Paparazzi
by PiperGrace
Summary: A series of stories throughout her life telling exactly why Piper McLean hates paparazzi so much. Shows glimpses of her first steal, her 15th birthday, her wedding, and more. K for Leo being Leo and for small children consuming alcohol unintentionally. No ownage except plotline!


Seven year old Piper sat in the limousine with her dad, trying her best to see out of the tinted, bulletproof windows. All she could see were the occasional flashes of light.

"Dad, what are those lights?" Tristan looked and noticed the flashes as well. He sighed.

"Piper, do you remember that big word you heard the other day? It started with a P."

"Potopizza?" Tristan smiled and shook his head.

"No, Pipes. Paparazzi." Piper shrugged.

"It's close enough. And what does that have to do with the lights?"

"Well Pipes, the paparazzi are people who make a lot of money if they take pictures of people like you and me that make us look bad. If you looked bad and someone got a picture of it, would you want that person to make a lot of money over it?" Piper shook her head. "Exactly. And the pictures they take get put on the computer, in magazines, everywhere all over the world."

"Well that's mean." Piper observed. Tristan nodded.

"You got it. And we have to have dark windows so they can't see us."

"Oh. Hey Dad?"

"Yeah Piper?"

"Why do we have to have people in black clothes watch us? Like Fabian?" Tristan put his hands behind his head and slightly leaned back in the seat.

"Fabian is your body guard. He's going to make sure the paparazzi doesn't get any pictures of you, and if anyone attacks you Fabian's going to protect you." Piper nodded, understanding the seriousness of her father's words.

"Why would anyone attack me?"

"Because we're really rich. And everyone knows who you are. If a kidnapper took you and said they wouldn't give you back unless they got money, do you know what would happen?"

Piper stared at the dark window. "Well, Fabian would be fired."

Tristan laughed at that. "Yes, Piper, Fabian would be fired unless I knew the whole story. And we would have to give them money to get you back. I love you too much to let money, or anything else, stand in between us."

"Good." The intercom came on.

"Mr. McLean, we're out of paparazzi range." The driver announced.

"Thank you Cade." Tristan replied. Piper knew what that meant. She unbuckled her seatbelt and rolled down her window about ten inches. All the two could see were trees, stretching for miles and miles. Not a single camera in sight. Piper suddenly gasped.

"Daddy, look!" Tristan glanced over to his daughter.

"What is it, Piper?"

"Look! There's a boy in the woods!" Tristan closed his eyes. Piper's imagination was expanding into the Cherokee stories the family always told her. Tom was the worst, always telling her the stories about ghosts and monsters right at bedtime. Tristan told her of happier things, like meeting strange people in the wilderness, who can survive on little or nothing unless they meet their one true love.

"Did he find his girl yet?"

"Dad I'm for serious! He has on blue jeans, and a purple shirt, and he has yellow hair, and bright blue eyes! And there's a wolf with him!"

"The wolf must be guiding him to a girl." Tristan reasoned for her mind's sake.

"No, the wolf is following him!" Piper started waving at the woods. She smiled.

"He's waving back. Bye!" Tristan looked out the window just in time to see a flicker of purple disappear into the woods. He shook his head. Now his imagination was running wild. _Besides, the only thing out there is the old sewer plant, _he comforted himself.

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

Piper shook her head, her golden earrings swaying with ever shake.

"Dad, you have to be lying to me. There is no way I made up some story about there being a guy in the woods with a wolf. The wolf would have mauled him to death!"

"It made sense in your seven year old mind, Pipes. But that's exactly what I was thinking at the time." Like clockwork, Piper rolled down her window, all the way this time.

"What made you think about that story, Dad?"

"We drove down this very road five years ago when you told me that. It was just after you'd gotten your ears pierced."

Piper instinctively fingered her ears, gently touching the golden hoops. Then she gasped. "Dad, I was right. I'm serious, I see a guy just like I told you. There's even a wolf with him. Purple shirt, blue eyes, blonde hair—"

"You said yellow hair." Tristan pointed out.

"That's not the point! I swear there's a guy out there like that."

"Pipes, you're pulling my leg. Did Tom put you up to this one?"

"No one put me up to anything. I'm serious, look for yourself!"

Tristan shook his head. "I'll pass, Pipes. I know one of the big jokes is 'made you look'."

"Dad! You know what? Whatever." Piper slightly tilted her head. She smiled and waved. "Look, he's even waving back."

"Of course he is, Piper." Piper huffed. Of course he wouldn't believe her. But he really was there, waving back! The wolf nodded her head. The boy turned to leave.

"Dad, they're leaving." Tristan once again looked just in time to see purple disappearing. He shook his head. Surely he was delusional.

Meanwhile Piper was secretly fuming. Was she spoiled? To the core. Did everyone want to be her friend? You were crazy if you didn't. Was she popular, and rich, and all that jazz? She hated it, but of course she was. So how come the only person who didn't pay attention to her was her dad?

She knew he had a busy schedule. That had been carved into her brain since she could barely toddle. But Piper didn't want to be Piper McLean. She wanted to be Pipes. Was that too much to ask?

And she knew he had free time. When he was flying from California to Dallas, Texas, why not call her then? Or shoot her a text, or an email, or something! Even Fabian texted her at least twice every day, and they had conversations most preteen girls don't have. Piper sighed. She was only twelve. Her bodyguard, despite the fact he was practically family, had even gotten old. On every outing he had to be at least twenty feet near her.

The secretaries, bodyguards, limo drivers, stylists, and especially her dad's publicity agent Angelica had gotten old. Ancient. Prehistoric even. She wanted attention! And if he wouldn't pay attention in person, he'd pay attention another way.

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

Piper couldn't believe it. She had walked right into the nearest jewelry store, found the most expensive (and ugliest) bracelet that had ever been invented, and walked right out. No red lights flashed, no sirens went off, no one had even tried to stop her. And then the cops showed up two weeks later on her doorstep.

They asked if she had the bracelet. Piper told them she did, but she had charged it on her credit card. Two days later they returned with a list of her recent purchases, which didn't include a bracelet. She gave them $500 in cash to pay off her fine, and that was that. Her dad wasn't even brought into the matter. That was fine, though. If the crimes got bigger, so would her attention value.

The day after the Bracelet Incident (she still had the bracelet) she got a pocketknife and carved insults into some person's car. Another fine. More crime, more money. Finally they shipped her off to the Wilderness School.

**TWO YEARS LATER**

Piper slid out of her dorm and crept down the hallway. A hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed her. She jumped, but relaxed when she heard a familiar quiet snicker.

"God Leo, you scared me." Her one and only friend grinned his signature maniac grin.

Leo was an interesting character, anyone could tell you that. He was accused of killing his mom in a house fire when he was seven, and no one wanted a 'bad luck charm' in their house. So he was shipped off to the Wilderness School.

"What did you want, Leo? If Shanna wakes up and realizes I'm gone-"

"Relax Piper. There may have been a few shots added to her Pepsi when she went to the bathroom. She's not waking up anytime soon." Piper hit his arm, and Leo laughed.

If they were caught so what? No one would care, even the administration crew at Wilderness. Piper assumed it was a perk of being a wallflower. They'd probably have to scrape gum off of the bleachers for two hours, maybe run a few laps. But nothing else. Unless Coach Hedge caught them. Then they'd be royally screwed for life.

"So what did you want Valdez?" Piper asked again. Leo reached into his coat pocket, and something jingled. Piper's brown eyes changed to green- the color they got when she was excited.

"You didn't think I forgot did you? There is exactly-" Leo looked at his watch. "one minute until midnight. Then it's technically a special day."

Piper rolled her eyes. One minute until April 15th. Leo looked at his watch and grinned again.

"Happy Birthday, Piper. Now, pop quiz: What city is Nevada most known for?"

Piper's eyes grew huge. "Are you serious?"

"When am I serious about anything? Come on, these keys are Mr. Laren's."

Piper clapped her hands over her mouth and stomped her feet happily. She was going to Vegas for her 15th birthday.

**LATER THAT DAY**

Leo scrambled to park the car. Piper leaped out of the passenger seat. The two sprinted for the dorms. Sunlight would soon cover the horizon, signaling it was six in the morning. Were they tired as heck? You bet. Was it worth it? Definitely. Piper slipped into her bed and closed her eyes. Not even ten minutes later Shanna was shaking her awake.

"McLean! Up! Do you want Hedge to beat you with his bat?" Piper groaned to fake Shanna out, just like she did every time she and Leo snuck off campus. Shanna spent a little extra time getting ready. Piper gave her roommate a strange look. Shanna copied her look and uncapped a tube of mascara.

"You know Piper, you really ought to dress up today." Piper shrugged.

"Why is today so special? We're just going to run through miles of endless desert and all of your effort will be wasted." Shanna whirled around excitedly.

"Nope! Hedge is with the fifth graders on a field trip. We don't have to go to P.E. today!"

"Seriously?" Piper asked. She hated P.E. just as much as everyone else. Shanna nodded.

"AND Mia got into Hopkins' files. Hot new guy in our grade checking in today!" That Piper could care less about. Everyone Shanna described as hot usually wasn't. They were all skaters, or bad boys, or pretty boys. Piper couldn't believe Shanna liked Dylan.

"Cool." Piper brushed her teeth and grabbed a ponytail holder. Shanna opened her closet.

"Oh Piper, I have the prettiest new shirt you could wear! It would go with the brown pants Megan stole from Gina for me, and I'm sure Teri would loan you some heels."

Piper slipped into a pair of dark blue sweatpants and slid her soft brown boots on over them. She was already wearing her grey and purple LOVE PINK Victoria's Secret hoodie. Piper looked into the mirror. Her hair was sloppily thrown into a side ponytail. Piper grabbed a pack of gum and opened her door.

"Shanna, it's my birthday. I'll wear what I want to."

Piper met up with Leo in the cafeteria and got in line with him. She grabbed a bagel and a bottle of water. When they sat down at their usual table in the corner, she tapped her bagel to Leo's donut.

"Happy birthday to me." They bit down into their breakfasts and drank a toast to another year survived at the Wilderness School. Leo started digging in his pockets.

"I have a few more things for you."

"Leo, this morning was already awesome. What more could I ask for?" Leo laid his prizes on the table. A heart shaped locket, some glow sticks glued together around an empty picture frame, and a smirk from Leo. Piper crossed her arms.

"What else did you do?" He pointed to the ceiling. The intercom crackled on.

"Piper McLean, you have a phone call. Piper McLean, there is someone on the phone." Piper got up and walked to the front office. From across the room, Leo yelled, "You're welcome!"

Piper took the phone from the secretary. "Hello?"

"Pipes?" Piper lit up, and her tired brown eyes changed to green again.

"Dad! Oh my god, Dad!"

"I miss you so much. I think about you every day."

"Same here. So…anything you wanted to say?" Piper didn't usually play that card, but she felt special. Besides, she hadn't seen her dad in two years.

"Hmm. Oh! Don't freak out when you call and Tami doesn't answer, she had to quit because she's moving to Jamaica. But I have a new secretary- Jane. She knows who you are, so don't worry. Things will be back to normal." Piper rolled her eyes. He was playing stupid like he used to do, so she could feel smart and special.

"Dad, what day is it?"

"Um, one sec." There was a pause. "The 15th. Why? Is it anything special?" He had lost the airy tone. He really didn't know. Piper's face fell. Rage boiled inside of her. Was he serious?

"You really don't know?"

"I have no clue, Pipes." Piper clenched her fist around the phone.

"Excuse me, Dad. I have to hang up so I can tell myself 'happy birthday'." Piper slammed the phone down and ran back into the cafeteria. Leo frowned when he saw tears brimming her eyes.

"Whoa! What's wrong, Chiquita?" Piper buried her face into his shoulder.

"He didn't remember, Leo. He called to tell me about his stupid secretary."

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" Leo yelled. A few people looked, but they quickly went back to business. Leo was no expert on women. So he just hugged her and hoped for the best. Thank God he did the right thing. Piper looked up.

"Thanks. Thank you so much for making my birthday awesome."

"Anytime. You say it, I'm there. We're a team, a duo. You and me…" Leo trailed off.

"What?" Piper asked.

"New kid. Has the looks of a popular, but definitely not the stats. Just our type."

Piper slightly broke free of Leo's embrace and gasped. Blonde hair, purple shirt, and the most gorgeous blue eyes. Muscles from years of toning. Piper choked on her gum.

The same guy she had seen so many years before was now at her school.

Little did anyone know the three of them would be best friends within a week.

**THREE YEARS LATER**

"Goodnight, Piper."

"Goodnight." Piper "sleepily" called to her maid. As soon as the door shut, there was a small tap on the balcony window. Piper grinned, recognizing the human silhouette in the moonlight. She threw the covers off of her body and stuffed her bed with pillows. Piper grabbed a pair of heels and a small bag, slid her boots on, and silently went out onto the balcony.

"Ready?" Jason asked.

Piper nodded. "I was born ready." Jason flew the two of them down off of the balcony and landed them safely onto the ground.

A long black car was waiting for them. It looked so calm, but Piper knew the truth about tinted windows. She'd grown up behind them. The two got into the limo and went to the Extravaganté Lounge, where one of Tristan's premier parties was being held. Piper flashed a bouncer two security cards. He pulled aside a velvet rope and let them through. Music blared through the door, and bright colors swarmed the couple within milliseconds.

"I can't believe you snuck out for a premier party." Jason said. Piper shrugged.

"Dad said it was okay, but someone on the inside has been spilling stuff to the media. They don't need to know I'm here." Jason nodded and the two of them made their way to a table.

Piper was used to being swarmed by celebrities. Lady Gaga had been her babysitter. Katy Perry gave her old clothes that didn't fit her anymore. Hades, Taylor Lautner paid for her tenth birthday party. They were all a family in a weird, twisted way. Kind of like the Olympians.

"Piper!" A voice called out over the crowd. Piper looked up and saw her "aunt" Jen- better known to pretty much the entire world as Katniss Everdeen. Piper lit up.

"Jen!" The two hugged briefly.

"Oh my god Piper, it's been way too long. You were thirteen the last time I saw you? Now you're what, eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Eighteen. I know, but we've both been so busy."

"And this is?" Jennifer nodded toward Piper's date.

"Jen, this is Jason. Jason, Jen." Jennifer extended a hand and Jason shook it.

"So Jason, you meet the Big Man yet?" Jen asked.

Jason shrugged. "Briefly. Once or twice, five minutes at the most."

Jennifer whistled. "Good luck. Okay, so Leven's on a rampage because I took her phone and she doesn't know where it is. I'm probably fixing to be royally screwed. Oh, and Piper? Blondes are always a good choice. I would know."

"JENNIFER!" Leven Rambin yelled over the crowd. Jennifer ducked down behind the two.

"Gotta go or I'm gonna die!" Piper laughed, knowing the truth behind it. A waiter offered them cheese cubes. They both took one. A song Jason didn't recognize came on. Piper lit up.

"Oh my gods, I love this song." She closed her eyes and a small smile appeared on her face. Jason took her hand.

"Come on, then." They walked to the dance floor together. It was slow and awkward at first, but gradually it became easy. Shortly after, time was forgotten. It was time to forget the stress of being a demigod and to have a lot of fun for once.

The next day on the cover of People magazine, Hephaestus TV, Yahoo! headlines, and Good Morning America, the top story was this: LITTLE McLEAN ALL GROWN UP, AS SEEN LAST NIGHT WITH MYSTERIOUS BLONDE AT HER FATHER'S PREMIER PARTY.

Everyone at both camps saw it.

**THE NEXT SUMMER **

Both camps, all of Olympus, all of the satyrs and such, and a select few mortals gathered in the huge room on Mount Olympus. Everyone had been working their butts off for the past year trying to set this up. It was a foolproof scheme.

Outside of the Empire State Building, Clarisse was yelling at everybody.

"I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU ARE GETTING PAID! DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE THAT THE KISS IS WORTH 50 GRAND? AND THINK ABOUT IT IDIOTS, WHY THE HECK WOULD THERE BE A WEDDING AT THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING? I AM LEGALLY ARMED AND NOT AFRAID TO FIGHT!"

Meanwhile on the 600th floor, last minute wedding preparations were taking place. Katie was explaining to Bianca Jackson what to do for the last time.

"Remember Bia, you walk down really slowly and drop the flowers. You don't dump the basket out, and make sure you use all of the flowers. When you're done, go stand by Aunt Thalia and your mommy. Okay?" Bianca nodded.

"And don't take off your shoes until I say you can." Annabeth added as she twisted a strand of Juniper's hair. Bianca huffed, but told her mother she wouldn't.

Drew appeared at the door. She poked her head in.

"Rachel, what am I supposed to do with the trays?" Rachel fastened a bobby pin into her hair.

"First, go tell Nico to bring them into the kitchen and to give them to Jillian. Then come back here and help us get ready. We need another set of Aphrodite's hands." Drew nodded and left the doorway. Hazel looked over to Piper.

"I thought she hated you."

"She did. But then she realized that whether she liked me or not she was stuck with me. And this is a matter of love. If she screws up, she looks bad. So she's helping." Hazel grinned.

"Sisterly love. By the way, do you want me to get your mom?" Piper debated it. Annabeth reached over and rested her hand on Piper's. Her grey eyes bore into Piper's currently brown eyes.

"Piper. She may be an extremely over the top goddess with a habit of raising the stakes dramatically, but she's your mom. On top of that she's the goddess of love. You can't go wrong there. She helped me get through my wedding. Besides, you're not marrying a guy who named his goldfish Nemo."

Reyna frowned, "I thought Nemo was a clownfish."

"He is," Annabeth confirmed.

Thalia laughed. "Typical Percy. And Piper, look at it this way: Sisters in law, movie nights, and endless amounts of personal time! Oh, and Artemis is the goddess of children!" Piper's eyes got huge. "I am so making a monthly visit. This is gonna be awesome!" Thalia cleared her throat. "None of you just witnessed that moment."

Piper turned to Hazel. "Go ahead and get my mom." Hazel got up and walked out of the room, searching for the goddess.

Drew came back at about that time. "Piper, everyone's waiting. Like, Clarisse got the mob to go away and everyone's sitting down. The guys are lined up and everything. Where's that other Roman girl? Hattie or something?"

"Hazel. She went looking for Mom." Drew winced.

"Mom's kind of sitting with the other gods and your dad on the front row." Piper groaned. Hazel raced back into the room.

"Everything is set up. It's all on your count now, Piper." Piper's eyes grew again.

"I-I-oh my gods. I'm getting married."

"You bet you are! We didn't go through all of this for nothing." Thalia objected. Piper picked up the small bouquet and took a shaky breath.

"Okay. Let's do this."

The service was traditional. The reception? Not so much. Piper ended up starting a new tradition for half-blood weddings. The bride will take off her high heels and throw them at the wall until they thoroughly stick. Any other female who wishes to do so can after the bride finishes.

Little Bianca Jackson stole her dad's spiked drink (Percy swears he didn't know it was spiked and places all blame on the Stolls). She chugged the entire margarita in five seconds flat, then succeeded in stealing her uncle Nico's drink as well. She was sugar high for five days straight after the wedding.

Leo's speech was truly inspiring.

"Can I just say 'I told you so' to both of you? Take a good look at me. I'm obviously not a child of Aphrodite-"

"Amen to that." Percy called out.

"Exactly. But even I could see this coming for a long time. And that's saying something. I'm just glad neither of you are so dense anymore. Can I get a show of hands of how many people agree with me? Just real fast, let me see. Who else saw this coming?" Lacy, Piper's sister on Aphrodite's side, actually stood up. Hazel raised both hands, and everyone who had been on the Argo II copied her.

"There you have it." Everyone started clapping. Leo handed Reyna the microphone.

"For once Nuts and Volts got something right. It was pretty obvious there was something. I saw it the second you got off of the Argo II the first time you came back to Camp Jupiter. I'll keep it short for all of you ADD folk out there. For one thing, I already have dibs on being godmother-"

Cries of "What? No fair!" Went around the room. Piper threw her hands up.

"I feel rushed to be a mother. Why does everyone want me to have a kid?"

Reyna shrugged. "Now I want to take a vote. Who wants them to hurry up and have a kid?"

Every single hand in the room except Piper's shot up. Once again, everyone that was on the Argo II and quite a few others raised two hands. This time Jason was the first to do it. Piper blushed and did a face palm while everyone else laughed at her.

"Back to my speech, a word of advice for Jason. Girls can be mean. Like you have no idea. So when you start really wanting that kid and she still says no, this is your fair warning. And all of us women here have come to an agreement. You break her heart-"

"And we break your face!" Every girl in the room yelled back.

"Fair enough, though I doubt that will happen." Jason replied.

At midnight the happy couple ditched the reception and left for their world tour honeymoon.

That was the cover story worldwide the next day. Piper grew up hating paparazzi.

**This is something I've had saved for a while and needed to upload. I'm sorry for any mistakes, I wrote this a while back. **

**A few time skips up when Piper and Leo are getting back to the Wilderness School from Vegas, that's about when Hera starts using the Mist to make them think Jason is there. That's how they see him and everything, but The Lost Hero isn't taking place.**

**During the wedding when all of the gods **_**and**_** Tristan are present, we can say there's a lot of Mist and he's been introduced to their world. Aphrodite gave him some more of her special "amnesia drink". **

**R&R F&F and have a good day. **


End file.
